February 3rd – The Day the Music Died (Began)

February 3 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly (age 22), JP Richardson (the Big Bopper, age 29) and Ritchie Valens (age 17) in a plane crash in Iowa. This date has been immortalized in the song “American Pie” by Don McLean.

Buddy Holly was an early rock pioneer. His style and technique were new and innovative. I often wonder what he would have created next.

While his death was certainly a tragedy, his legacy certainly lives on. Many of the rock and roll elite are quick to list Buddy Holly as a major influence on their careers and music.

A great example is the Beatles. Their four piece instrumentation is the same as Buddy Holly and the Crickets. The acoustic guitar is up front on early songs. If you listen to these early songs, they almost sound like they could be Buddy Holly songs.

Of course, it doesn’t end there. While I could probably list a limitless amount of famous artists influenced by Buddy, the truth is, he influenced me as well.

I can remember saving my money to buy Buddy Holly records. I would sit for hours in my room listening to them – over and over again. His voice, his phasing and his guitar playing fascinated me and influenced me to learn to play the guitar.

On of the saddest day of my life, my tenth birthday, my dad asked me what I wanted. I was so excited, because I knew exactly what would be the greatest gift – to go see Buddy Holly in concert. I’ll never forget the look on my dad’s face after I revealed my greatest wish. As a parent now, I can completely understand the thoughts in my dad’s head – “how do I tell him?”

My dad gently told me that we couldn’t go see Buddy Holly…because he had died a long time ago. I was shocked and quickly told him it couldn’t be true. I was just listening to him on the radio!

My parents and I never forgot that birthday – not because of the gift I received, but because of the gift I wanted.

Finding out the truth made me even more interested in this guy and his life. I started studying him, learning everything I could.

So, in small and big ways, Buddy Holly came to influence me and my love of music. While his legacy lives on through the Beatles and many other artists, his legacy lives on from his influence on me. His ending is sad, but he made such a difference in the lives of many after his death. Thus, his death did mark the day the music died and the day it began.